It’s a new school year, bringing with it a new set of trained Peer Leaders ready to fire off campaigns to get their peers to and through higher education.
For our high school PeerForward teams, the year begins with goal-setting meetings, where teams join together with their PeerForward Coach, Advisor, and Principal to set clear campaign goals for the school year and make a plan for how to track their progress. Here, they’ll prepare for how they plan to get their peers to apply to 3+ colleges and to apply for financial aid early. Peer Leaders also will create opportunities to help students in all grades to connect academics to future careers and make a postsecondary plan. This, too, serves as the first collaborative meeting teams have with administrators and PeerForward Coaches at the table to align their vision for the school year.
In cases like Miami Northwestern High School in Fla., our highly motivated Peer Leaders will go as far as taking initiative to run the whole event. As Coach Loubert Senatus shared, “These Peer Leaders literally scheduled the meeting, ran the show, facilitated their wants, dreams, and aspirations and pledged to meet a goal of 10 million in scholarships…It has never been done and this team wants to be the first to tackle said goal!”
PeerForward Coach Tim Spicer (left) with Troy Jackson (center) and PeerForward Advisor Shelia Henderson (right) at Luke C. Moore High School.
We’re seeing that same enthusiasm radiate not just from our Peer Leaders, but from our Advisors and Principals too. At the goal-setting meeting at Luke C. Moore High School in D.C., PeerForward Advisor Sheila Henderson shared, “In my 25 years, I have never come into my school year with this much ENERGY! I am still riding the energy wave from my four days at Washington College Workshop.” Then, at the meeting held at Bladensburg High School in Md., PeerForward Coach Cornelius Williams shared, “This team is so well rounded and engaged that they brought tears to the Principal’s eyes as they mentioned their goals and wants for Bladensburg.”
PeerForward Coach Cornelius Williams (left) with the PeerForward team at Bladensburg High School, Md.
It’s clear the energy sparked at Summer Workshops is still burning strong in our PeerForward teams and is only set to grow from here. In fact, we’re already seeing our teams put their goals to action at numerous back-to-school events! Stay tuned for highlights on what this year’s teams are already doing to kick off college-going campaigns at their schools.
Goal-setting meeting at International High School at Langley Park, Md.
